How Long Is the Teas?

How does the TEAS Test Length affect your Performance?

The TEAS test 5.0 is a timed assessment test for pre-nursing
students in the U.S and is configured to appraise the basic academic
prerequisites in these students. The nursing program colleges weigh the
resultant test scores along with
the other academic records and qualifications of the applicants and
thus, screen the applications to their colleges. This article addresses
the certain key aspects of the test in a question-answer format, as
follows:

How many sections, questions and question types are there in the TEAS 5.0 test?

The test contains 170 questions, spread across 4 subject areas of the test, namely Math, Science, English and Reading. An important point is that 20 out of the 170 questions are not scored.
However, there is also no way of knowing which questions will be scored
or not, during the actual test, so the applicants should treat every
question equally.

What is the length of the test?

The total time duration of the test is 209 minutes. However, each test section has a specific time limit and the limits, which will be discussed in the next paragraph.

How long are the individual test sections?

In the official ATI study guides, the number of scored questions and the total time limit for each test section are mentioned as follows:

Reading - 42 scored questions and 58 minutes

Math - 30 scored questions and 51 minutes

Science - 48 scored questions and 66 minutes

English - 30 scored questions and 34 minutes

It must be noted that the time limits mentioned above are the
durations available for solving all the questions in the test section,
i.e. both scored and un-scored items.

On an average, how much time is available for 1 question in the test?

Now, this will be determined by answers to queries about the
duration of the entire test as well as the length of each test
section. The most important factor here is that the 200 un-scored items will be randomly spread across the 4 test sections, during the actual test.
This makes it almost impossible to calculate the average time available
for one question in each test section. However, let's consider a best case scenario to answer this question. Let's say the 20 un-scored items are equally divided across the 4 test sections. In this case, the total number questions in each test section will be, as follows:

Reading - 42 + 5 = 47 total questions and 58 minutes

Math - 30 + 5 = 35 total questions and 51 minutes

Science - 48 + 5 = 53 total questions and 66 minutes

English - 30 + 5 = 35 total questions and 34 minutes

Going by this best case scenario, we may calculate the average time for each question in each test sections, as follows:

Reading - 58/47 = 1.23 minutes per question

Math - 51/35 = 1.45 minutes per question

Science - 66/53 = 1.24 minutes per question

English - 35/34 = 1.03 minutes per question

How do the time limits impact an applicant's performance?

Time is a crucial and decisive factor in any standardized
examination; and it also important in the TEAS. We believe that the
above example gives the applicants an idea on how challenging the exam
is because of the strict time limits. The lack of time may cause
candidates to panic and make mistakes. However, it must also be noted
that during the actual test, the distribution of un-scored items may be different from what we have considered here. This just means that an applicant, approximately, may
end up having a little less than one minute for each question in some
test sections and a little over a minute for a question in other
sections. Hence, smart time management and quick thinking is crucial to acing the TEAS 5.0 test.

How should you time your questions, during the test?

Based on the information we have, it would be best for an applicant to NOT take more than one minute for any question in any test section.
Speed is crucial here, so each question must be answered as fast as
possible. Let's say, a certain question is difficult and an applicant
has already spent about 30 seconds or more on it, without any clue about the answer. Then the applicant has the option to flag the question for later review
and return to it, after finishing all the other questions in that
particular test section. This will save time, but care must be taken to
not flag too many questions for the end, because this will cause panic in the last few minutes of the test section.

We hope this article has answered frequently asked questions regarding the time duration of the entire test and the
individual sections and also the time available per test question, in a
comprehensive manner. In conclusion, the TEAS test 5.0 is very
challenging in terms of the time limits and the difficultly level of
questions in each test section. It is also quite evident that
sufficient preparation before the actual test through review of the top
study guides and practice tests is essential for an applicant's success
in the test. For more information on the test, study resources,
practice tests etc., you may visit the official ATI website(www.atitesting.com)